14 Million Six Hundred Five
by Somber-Veil
Summary: It would seem that perfectly executing the visions Dr. Strange has seen within the time stone was no easy feat. When he jumps the gun by a few seconds because Tony is close to death, how will his impulsivity effect the world? Eventual Tony Stark x Dr. Strange Set during Infinity War. Violence, Angst, Drama
1. Chapter 1

"How many did you see?"

"14 Million, six-hundred five."

"How many do we win?"

The pain that shot through the man's body should have been familiar. He had at one point fought Dormammu for what seemed like an eternity, dying in many strange and horrific ways. One would think a bit of torture would be child's play to the man. However, suffering through something countless times doesn't erase the firing of nerves and burning agony you may suffer in the future. Dormammu, as dark and terrifying as he had been at least had little patience with the man and ended his suffering rather quickly each time he'd offered to bargain. This man- or rather _monster_ was in no such hurry to end the pain he'd inflicted. In fact, his sole purpose besides doing what was instructed of him by Thanos seemed to be to find whatever way possible to prolong suffering. His magic was far more advanced than the master of the mystic arts', that was certain. However the two had much more in common than he would have liked. While both wielded magic, they also both studied medicine. He found this out once the needle like objects that were hovering in front of him were explained. Micro surgery.. He couldn't help but be slightly fascinated by how advanced these creatures seemed to be. That all slowly gave way to the looming thought that there was no way they stood a chance before these beings. They had been planning this attack for some time, but he couldn't help but think that they most likely could have beaten them all by simply coming and taking what they wanted years ago when the Avengers weren't as sharp and Stephen had just dipped his toes into the mystic arts. Still, they hadn't. And although he was here captured, heart rate increasing as anxiety took hold at the thought of being tortured again he couldn't help but see the light at the end of the tunnel. They didn't have the stone. And if he could help it, they would never get it. He was willing to lay down his life to ensure this.

" _Give.. me.. the stone.._ " Ebony's cold blue eyes almost similar to his own peered deep, tendrils crawling and feeling around the inside of the man's head for his secrets. He'd felt as though he'd already known how to remove the gem from where it was safely around his throat but kept him there for the sheer enjoyment of getting to break him. Whatever the case was, it wouldn't change the outcome. Glowing geometries rotated slowly around the Eye of Agamotto when it sensed the man urging the needles forward. Stephen exhaled carefully, then squeezed his eyes shut at the feeling of one delicate needle piercing his skin and illuminating the small capillaries that lied beneath. He stifled a grunt, feeling it slide deeper and deeper until it was gone.. as was the memory of it.

He was suddenly jolted back to reality, the flashback taking but a second to dissipate. "One." He answered at all of the peering eyes before him. Technically one, anyway. It was the only one with a favorable outcome. Well, the most favorable out of all of the ones he'd seen anyway. The thought itself made him grip his inner thigh to ground himself. Anxiety threatened to overtake him again even now, but there was no time. Especially with the realization that the Mad Titan was on his way.

" _Don't let him close his fist.._ "

The cape obeyed as it always did, even when he knew that sickening tear was going to be it's fate. He had no time to think about it and instead opened a portal for the young Spiderman to jump through and deal some blows to the Titan before he too suffered the mad man's strength. The blows continued, and for a moment Stephen thought that maybe things could end differently than what he saw . But that hope had run out when Peter Quill beat at the Titan's face and pulled him out of the trance the small woman about his shoulders had him in. That's when he knew they were doomed to repeat what he'd seen thanks to the stone.

"You're full of tricks, wizard." Stephen could feel his face becoming hot, skin at his face turning blue as he felt the man's large fingers grip at his neck and swipe the Eye from his neck. "But you never chose your greatest weapon, a fake." And in seconds the necklace that he placed wards on was smashed easily beneath the man's fist. All of that work.. all of the fighting and all of the tricks he'd unleashed on the Titan didn't even seem to phase him. He felt helpless dangling, hoping still that maybe things would be different and if he tried harder that he would be able to somehow pull through. But that hope had faded almost as quickly as it had came about, and before had a chance to reply he was thrown what felt like the distance of a football field and everything quickly went black.

When he came to and saw Tony spitting up blood from the deep stab he'd taken from the Mad Titan he felt the color drain from his face yet again. The best he could do was muster a weak plea for the violence to stop as he rolled himself into a sitting position. He knew what he had to do and what he had to say but as the seconds rolled by and he watched the man before him slowly grow weaker he started to stray from his script, feeling helpless even from this distance. "Spare his life.. and I will give you the stone." He was panting at this point, everything up until now going exactly to plan. Only this.. he wasn't supposed to be bargaining yet. No, what he'd seen from the visions of the stone was different. Yes, the plan was to eventually offer the stone for the man's life but not yet. He didn't see the stones glow from the gauntlet, he was supposed to wait until the very last second before the blast but he couldn't bring himself to let the man get so close to death. He jumped the gun by mere seconds, and after that minor mistake he could already see things begin to unravel. He stole a glance at the Avenger, disappointment and shock racking his pale features like he knew it would. He'd hoped that at least that portion would change but the man was still in awe.

 _"Why would you do that?"_

Thunder boomed all around the odd band of heroes as they slowly stirred and helped each other up. Out of all the outcomes he'd seen, this was not one he was prepared for. It made him feel a mortal man again, unsure of when death would sneak up on you and bite. He was certain this would be much worse, and he hated himself for it. There was no doubt in his mind he would secure the Mind stone, just like he was supposed to but what would change? How different would this reality that he had not yet seen be from the one he was pursuing? Had he had more time perhaps he could have seen this one too, but there was no use in thinking of that now. Hopefully he'd be the only one now to be turned to dust, he knew Tony would want him dead for betraying the entire plan.

Blue eyes stole over to the only casualty they'd suffered battling Thanos on this strange planet. Nebula, the woman who seemed more machine lay with a vacant gaze and most of her parts missing. She'd come to right as Strange diverted from what the plan was supposed to be, and upon hearing him offer the stone tried one last time to take the Titan's life. Stephen was almost certain she would, but the blast from the Power stone soon turned that hope into dust along with half of her.

Starlord tried his best not to look at her remains, and Stephen could tell that when he did he didn't see her but Gamora instead. He still wanted to believe that this was the only way to win, but the odds were stacked against them even more than they had been before and it made his stomach do flips.

The look on Tony's face had said it all. Then, and now as he watched Peter Parker turn to dust right in his arms. Stephen had been clutching his side where he'd suffered a rather deep wound from the Titan, but it was almost forgotten as he watched Tony look at his own hands waiting to turn to ash himself. When he didn't he turned to Dr. Strange, mouth slightly agape as they both waited for him too to collapse and blow away in the wind. When he jerked and felt his wound spill more blood he knew this must be it. Before the wind could take him he mustered. "Tony. It was the only way.." Stark hadn't moved when he said that, just weakly pondered what the man could have meant. He'd sounded like this was the way to win, but this felt more like a defeat to the man. He could tell the other man was in shock, just waiting for him to disappear as well so he'd be left alone on this planet. But when he didn't, and instead passed out from the amount of blood he'd lost he finally sprung into action and ran in his direction.

"Hold still will ya?" Dr. Strange's vision crept back slowly, the dry wind on Titan blowing red dust past his face. He felt strangely lighter, and cooler until he'd realized the other man had stripped him of his robes in order to find the wound that was the culprit behind him passing out so suddenly. "Tony.." He breathed, trying to focus his vision as it blurred a few more times. Stark looked down at him as if he was just taken out of deep thought. He face was stone, but softened ever so slightly when he sensed the remorse on the other man's face. "Stop moving so I can try to seal this up ok?" "Tony, I'm sorry.." That made the Iron Man stop his efforts, tossing the other man's words around in his head before inevitably playing the sight of Peter crying and blowing away in the light gust after saying something similar. He silently went back to work, though he hesitated a moment. "There, that should stop the bleeding and hopefully promote new tissue growth." But they both knew he'd lost too much blood before he had a chance to heal his wound. His recovery would all depend now, but he'd try his best to keep the man alive for both of their sakes. He didn't know if he could handle another casualty. Strange nodded a thanks, taking time to observe the other man as he stared off into the distance at the forgotten buildings and rubble the battle had caused. No doubt, he was digesting that all of them were lost and perhaps the person he liked the least was left behind. If Strange could have switched places with Peter Parker, he would do so in a heartbeat.

They stayed quiet for a long time, Stephen slowly regaining his strength though he wasn't near 100% by any means. Tony sat thinking for a long time, and he could tell he was trying his best to hold back tears. Stephen didn't want to disturb his thoughts or make him feel like he couldn't express himself but he was unable to move in his current state. So he let the other man think in silence, waiting for the man to say something cruel or joking as he seemed to do to deflect what he was truly feeling. "This was a one way ticket.." He'd finally mumble, shaking his head slowly. "I tried to tell the kid but he came along anyway.." Stephen parted his lips to say something, but thought better of it and instead remained silent. "Though, who's to say he wouldn't have still vanished.." The genius was finally beginning to resurface, and for the moment he allowed himself to asses their current situation to distract himself from his grief. "I guess we're stranded for the time being.. unless we can get on that ship.." Stephen's head began bobbing as he fought to keep consciousness. He'd tried his best to stay awake through the long bouts of silence but he couldn't put it off any longer. Tony suddenly realized and took hold of his shoulders, shaking him gently until he finally grabbed his jaw and forced his eyes to flutter back open. "Hey Doc don't die on me now, I need you." Stephen tried his best to focus, but was failing rather hard at it. "Strange, here. Look, follow my fingers.." The genius slowly waved them in front of the other man's face, hoping to get him to focus long enough to keep hold of his consciousness. It seemed to be working, but two waves later the sorcerer was weakly gazing into his eyes. That made Tony stop, and try to support his back as best as he could so if he did pass out again he wouldn't hit his head on the red earth below him. "Ton.." "Hey, quiet Doc." He gently pat the man's back 2 times to signal that things were ok and he didn't need to talk but that didn't stop the man from continuing. "Tony.." He paused for a while. "..cold.." For a moment the man's brows knitted together until he realized the other man was still shirtless. "-Right." And then he was quickly grabbing his robes and trying his best to drape them over the man without letting him fall. The cloak slowly draped itself over the man's shoulders with delay, but even it looked like it's energy was being drained from it which didn't serve to brighten Tony's mood at all.

It was another long while of silence. In that time Tony had propped the man up against a rock and slowly began surveying the wreckage of their ship and looking for the one Nebula would have arrived on. He didn't want to go far though, less the other man pass out or worse when he wasn't there. After spotting it in the distance he circled back to the other man and crouched down in front of him. "Looks like Nebula was a better pilot than we were, her ship's still in tact. If we can make it over there I can try to figure out how to fly it." He tried his best to ignore how pale the other man was and the sickening color of his lips. The fact that the man was so cold even when the temperature was so warm here was another fact he was trying to ignore. "Come on Strange, it's not far I'll help you up." He wasn't even sure he man had heard him until he saw him turn his head and smirk as much as his body would allow. "Tony.. I'm not getting up-" "The hell you aren't, I'll carry you we can't stay here." "Tony.." He breathed carefully, blinking slowly as a smile crept onto his face. "I'll send you back.." And slowly the man raised his hands, shaking. "I think I can muster that.. Earth needs you." The look that passed over Tony's features almost hurt to look at, and filled the weakening man with the slightest bit of hesitation. "Stark-" "If you think I'm leaving you here to die you have another thing coming." "Tony-" "I've already lost enough people today!" The tone quickly silenced any other protest he could have had. "I'm not losing any more.. You're coming with me, or neither of us are going and I'm gonna fly us home." There was a long string of silence, Strange's hands dropping to his lap as he carefully took in the other man's expression, then smiled finally. "I think we both know that I'm a goner Tony." Somehow, his tone wasn't to be argued with either and another long string of silence befell them. "Plus I.." He felt his vision blur again. "I might kill us both or easily send us somewhere else if I don't focus.. and I'm losing it.." They both knew he was right, as much as the other man didn't want to believe it. Somehow this was hurting just as bad as losing Peter and the rest of the group they met, he wasn't sure he could handle this all at once, all in one day.

This bout of silence wasn't as long as the others for he could see Strange begin to lose focus again and threaten to pass out. He had to act fast or they'd both be stuck here, but he still couldn't help but try to think of how to get them both out alive. "..Alright Doc." He placed a hand on his shoulder which seemed to put the sorcerer at ease. "But I'm coming back for you..I'm not just gonna leave you here. Wong can do the portal thing too, I saw him. Just hold on a little longer, I'll get him to bring us back.." He trailed off with the realization that Wong may not be there when he returned. In the middle of him talking the sorcerer, with his head lolling slightly had visualized the Sanctum and opened a rather unstable portal to it. The gesture itself seemed to drain the energy from him, but he was able to focus a little harder and make is mostly safe to travel through for the man. "Go Tony..I can only hold it-.." But he didn't need to finish his sentence, Tony could see his pale face tilting dangerously forward. So he stepped through carefully, anticipating the shrinking and expanding ring of sparks. The other man didn't even seem to notice when he'd safely stepped through because he'd still been trying to hold the shaky, sporadic portal open for the man. His eyes were half lidded, and the portal was quivering even worse now to the point that only a small child could fit through unscathed. Tony could see he was dying once he'd turned around, and felt a wash of pain overtake him as he gazed at the red sands and the dead sky. Stephen's eyes just about closed, and Tony thought to turn away so he didn't have to witness the man collapse into the sand through that small window. Another life lost, and for what? To save his, and of course that didn't sit well with him at all. The Avengers didn't trade lives after all.

Something over took Tony Stark and in an instant he felt himself reaching through the dangerously small hole and grabbing the man by the collar, yanking him through the space just big enough for him just as he passed out and it closed around him. The cloak he was wearing had helped him through or he would have lost his legs surely, but not before being cut almost in half itself.

They both collapsed onto the floor of the sanctum in a heap, the cloak slipping under them both just before they smashed into it's polished floors. The first thing he could think to do was call out for Wong and hope the man wasn't lost in the snap as well.


	2. Chapter 2

_White._

All he could see was a blurry white wall of light when he opened his eyes. He tried to blink it away a few times but it was no use as of now and he was too exhausted to try any harder. So he closed his eyes again, drifting off for another unknown amount of time.

When he awakened again sometime later the white he saw was now a light gray, and when he blinked he noticed the familiar ceiling of a hospital. But what the hell was he doing in a hospital? And why the hell was he laying down and not preforming surgery?

The doctor sat up quickly then even though his vision had not yet fully returned to him. He _hated_ being in hospital beds as he grew to remember, even more so after his accident. Now it made sense, he wasn't preforming surgery because he _couldn't_. The thought of laying there helpless under the watchful eye of a most likely less competent doctor scared him more than anything else he could remember, though he didn't remember much at the moment if he were to be honest.

 _"Hello?"_

There wasn't an immediate answer which struck him as odd. It wasn't often hospitals were low staffed and even more odd _low on patients_. That's when he remembered. Everything. The time stone, Dr. Banner crashing through the Sanctum stairway, Thanos, the snap, _Tony_.. It all came back to him in such a rush that he had to hold his head to keep from getting dizzy. It didn't stop the headache though which annoyed him ever so slightly, but he wasn't concerned with that right now. Right now he needed to find out what was going on. How the hell was he alive and who else was still left on this planet? What would they do next? And where the hell was Tony? Wong?

Just as he stood and ripped off all of the hospital gear and his gown the cloak of levitation exited from it's seat eagerly and floated upright in front of him as if it were inspecting him. It'd been sitting on top of where the rest of his clothes had been, guarding them. It took him a moment to put his clothes back on, and as he glanced at the cloak he noticed it seemed to be waiting for him to fall. He hadn't though, and it seemed relieved as it returned to it's place on his shoulders. The cloak had a mind of its own when it wasn't seemingly reading Stephen's. It gestured towards a table by his bedside just as the question popped into the sorcerer's head about where his sling rings were. "I swear I'll never get used to that."

After they were carefully placed back on his fingers he'd pause, taking a breath and holding up his hands to test and see if they were still shaking. When he saw they were back to normal he'd make a circle with his left hand, sparks coming to life just as a figure appeared in the doorway.

"Ya' know, ya' gotta be more careful with that or else someone's gonna see you and freak the hell out." As if the other man's words had been water the sparks died almost instantly as Dr. Strange looked over and saw none other than Tony Stark standing in his doorway. His nanotech had been slinking back into it's housing unit as he stood there with his usual expression. "I'm sure watching people turn to dust may have desensitized everyone just a bit." Strange replied, letting his hands fall to his side. "And how did you-?" " _Know to come?_ I made sure Friday alerted me when your vitals shifted." The genius gestured idly to his monitor that he now noticed had a red and gold addition to it. Stephen couldn't help but smile, shaking his head as he should have anticipated that answer. "Right.." There was a long silence then, just like on Titan. As uneasy as it made him feel he wasn't sure how to keep it from happening so he just rode it out until something came to mind. "I'm assuming Wong-?" Clear blue eyes caught Tony's face just as a slightly pained expression passed over it. The look gripped Stephen by the gut with it's cold hands, and then suddenly he felt empty. Another shorter silence, this time his focus was on controlling the mix of sadness and anger that wet his eyes slightly. " _Then how did you get me-?"_ "You should still be resting, doctors said it'd be at least another week till' you-" "I think I can handle myself Tony. Probably better than they can." Old hints of his former arrogance were showing, but he suppressed it easily enough. It would seem the realization that the only man he'd really call his friend was gone now made him agitated. Still, he tried his best not to take it out on Tony. "Strange-" "I'm fine. Tell me who's all left." That caught the Avenger off guard, and Stephen watched his eyes carefully this time as not to miss what they could tell him that he wouldn't. "- _come with me_. I'll show you."

The Avenger's base looked just the way Stephen remembered it from his visions. This was often a place he would watch when he visited the astral plane. One could learn a lot by just siting and listening. "We're still making a list of those who're still unaccounted for, but I think we've just about got it." Tony activated a hologram that floated in front of the both of them displaying a collage of those who'd they presume _missing_ during the snap. Missing sounded much better, but Stephen couldn't help but pinch his chin at the bold lettering. "I'm on here." Was more of a statement than a question which made Tony perk up and promptly mark him as safe right then and there. "Yeah, uh.. you weren't looking too good for a while there. Thought we'd lose you." Stephen's clear blue eyes stared off, brows knitting as he tried to remember what all happened on Titan. Tony could sense this and gently slapped his hand on the man's shoulder which made the sorcerer look him in the eye curiously. "What all don't you remember?" Tony finally asked, which caught Stephen off guard since he thought the man would just keep avoiding the subject. "I remember the fight on Titan. Vividly. Thanos tried to kill you and left after he got the stone. I remember everyone turning to dust, but after that I don't remember anything." Tony was quiet for a moment which was normal when it was just the two of them. However Stephen could tell he was planning out what he would say next. "You don't remember getting us home?" That surprised him, this whole time he thought Wong had done it or Tony used his suit somehow. But Stephen himself had gotten them home? And he didn't remember it at all? That was concerning."Yeah you-.. after you threw down with Thanos you were hurt pretty bad." He gestured to Stephen's bandaged side. "Lost a good amount of blood. I thought you were a gonner and tried to get you back on the ship but you opened up one of those portal thingies instead. Almost took my head off." He allowed himself to laugh at that even though Stephen hadn't. "- _hah_.. you ah.." He looked pained now, and Stephen tried his best not to move lest he be taken from this thoughts and try to direct the conversation elsewhere. "You were gonna stay on Titan." And then again the silence that seemed to always manifest showed it's head, and Stephen knitted his brows as he felt it descend. "Lucky for you I decided to save your magical ass- _again_." Tony tried his best to lighten the mood by chuckling, but even his face betrayed him. Stephen noticed himself but wasn't really sure what to say. That was remedied soon enough. "You know, a thank you would be nice!" Tony allowed himself to chuckle louder this time, letting his hand fall easily from the other man's shoulder. Stephen's eyes never left the floor however, and it was almost as if Tony could read his mind. "Look, Strange. What happened-" "I was hoping I would have turned to dust myself." He admitted turning quickly away from the Avenger and taking a few steps. "Then I would have been spared having to explain." "Strange-" "No, let me finish." He turned back to face the other man again then, arms unfolding from in front of his chest. "What I saw in the stone-.. I said what I was supposed to say, to ensure our victory. I just-.." His eyes instinctively found the other's, and in that moment he was horribly aware of how the other man was looking at him. He'd been waiting for this explanation, and Stephen suspected it was why he was so concerned with keeping him alive. That made his eyes find the floor again, expression growing solemn. "I got a bit ahead of myself when I saw him aim that glove at you. In truth, I knew he wouldn't have killed you but I suppose I was afraid even still." The look of disappointment on Tony's face was clear as day, but there was something else mixed in. Perhaps Stephen would have been able to pin it had he just looked at the other's face, but he made no such movement. "I could tell you exactly how that reality would have played out, though it would have been hard as a pile of dust. Now that I'm here, and the reality has changed I don't know.. I don't know how this will end."

The Avengers had all halfway piled into the room by then, having been listening for some time it would seem. Captain America seemed to be the most understanding out of them, the rest just sort of stood there speechless– and by the rest he meant Natasha, and Bruce. He could feel his shame growing, so much so that he hadn't noticed Steve walk over and place a hand on his shoulder until it pulled him from his thoughts. "You did what any of us would have done." That made Tony look up at him then, another odd mix of emotions floating on his features as Captain America removed his hand. Stephen watched as Steve glanced back at Tony who was now staring blankly at his cloak, and walked back to where he'd come from. "We'll figure this out, like we always do." Natasha offered, Bruce nodding from beside her and Steve smiling halfheartedly. Tony was the last of the Avengers to speak, finally looking Stephen in the eye. "I guess I was wrong about you.. moral compass and all." His hand waved dismissively but not rudely, and Stephen thought he noticed a half smile for a second but as soon as it appeared it was gone. The silence that hung over them all stayed for longer than Stephen was expecting, so he took the initiative to break it. "I should return to the Sanctum, pour over the scripts there to see if any of it will be of any use to us. I'll be in touch." He added quickly, opening a portal with his sling ring and promptly stepping through it.

It had been weeks since Tony heard from most of the remaining Avengers. He guessed it was to be expected. He still hated Rodgers and Natasha seemed to be glued to his side as they tried to find a solution to half the universe being turned to ash. Bruce checked in on him from time to time, bouncing ideas off of him on how to fix Vision but after the Time stone had been ripped from his head he was unsure of how to bring him back. Or if he should bring him back now that Wanda was gone. He had just finished picking at his food when Friday suggested he finish at least half to help his mood. He was already on his way to the shower and not feeling very ungry eve as she called out another wear 'boss'. In response he put her to sleep, allowing security functions to stay online as he sighed deeply and began to disrobe.

His tower had been lonely ever since Pepper left. The snap had been the final nail in the coffin, the one before that being him leaving Earth to go fight the monsters that ended up winning in the end anyway. The toll was too great for her and he really couldn't blame her for that. He did find it funny that now that it was all over he hasn't had much of a reason to put on the suit and would have had more time to spend with her. Tony beat himself up about it every day until he couldn't anymore. She'd lost people that were important to her in the snap and took some needed time off, but if she didn't feel like returning he would understand that too. The world wasn't the same, the motivation to create was lost and a dark cloud seemed to hang over Earth even after 3 years had passed since the event. Life went on, but repairing all that was erased from losing half of the population was a long and grueling process. There weren't enough depression meds out there to correct pain the world was left with.

He sighed as his shower switched on, automatically set to notify him when it reached his favorite temperature. Tony looked in the mirror and ran his hand over his signature facial hair which he had let go for a while until he was almost unrecognizable. Somehow he mustered the strength to trim it back to it's original glory, though depression made him sluggish at the task.

He didn't notice after a while that the shower was still running, brown eyes downcast as he let the sink run and slowly wash away the foam from his razor. He was just drifting off into his thoughts again when Sparks ignited behind him and almost scared him into slipping on the condensation of the floor. Instead he turned around with the razor outstretched towards the intruder, nanotech climbing up his arm quickly and encasing it until it too was a weapon. Dr. Strange called his name as he finally looked up from a book he'd been glued to before he dropped it and raised his hands defensively at the sound of his repulsor. "Jesus Tony, it's me!" He shouted, only to be taken aback again by the man's almost naked form. " _Jesus-!_ " "Yeah?! _Shouldn't that be_ _ **my**_ _line?!_ " Stephen closed his eyes and stepped back, the portal fizzing out unexpectedly. "-I apologize, I didn't realize you were-" Tony only lowered his glove when he realized he was still holding his razor as if it were a weapon, but not before looking it over in confusion and tossing it shortly after. "...Well? Mind telling me what was so urgent that you felt the need to pop up in my bathroom?" "Uh- right, I uh.." The sorcerer tried his best to bend down and reach for the book he'd dropped without looking at the other man. Tony stared down angrily at him and finally sighed and rolled his eyes. "It's not like my dick's out Strange." "Right." He quickly scooped up the book then, fumbling with re-finding his page. "Aaany day now.." "Sorry, I was reading and I happened upon-" But then the room went black, both of the men standing there in silence before red lights came on and an audible alarm sounded.

 **Intruder alert- Intruder alert- activating system s-**

" _ **Friday!**_ " And the room was dark again, long enough for the shower to switch back on before the regular lighting did once again. Stephen was standing there, stone faced with the book upside down in his hands while Tony glared at the other. The best Strange could do was flash an awkward pseudo-smile before pointing at the bathroom door and excusing himself to wait for the other outside.

"So." Tony poured a glass of wine for them both, sighing lightly in his dark green robe. "Please tell me whatever the hell you found was worth all of this nonsense." Dr. Strange had been reading over what he meant to show Tony again, only looking up when the glass was offered to him before returning his eyes to the page. Tony took a sip of his drink expecting him to say something but gave up and eventually sat in front of him, moving closer to get a better look at the old book. "So what? What is this old thing?" As if he'd forgotten the other man was there Stephen looked up suddenly, trying to play off his obvious rudeness by grabbing the glass and taking a short sip of the expensive wine Tony'd given him. "I was reading over about the Time stone and I noticed this." He scooted closer in order to let the other man see the passage he was stuck on, delicate as the book was old and falling apart. "I thought you might find this interesting, look at the part about the Time stone's existence." Tony was busy observing the Doctor, noticing how intelligent the man looked with a book in his hand. He snapped out of it and looked down at the passage, suddenly interested himself and moving closer to read it over. "That's an interesting catch.. but what do we do with it? We don't have the time stone." The passage had been about the nature of the stone. While it could effectively rewind time, it was also elusive in it's existence in said time. It's existence all depended on when and how it was used, and Strange thought this could mean there were different versions of the Time stone that could exist at any given time. The rest of the passage was positively vague, but who better to ask for an opinion than Tony Stark? He could tell it'd been puzzling the doctor for a while, even when he looked at him for an explanation his eyes were still on the page rereading the passage over and over again. "Strange." Tony called gently, pulling the other man out of his thoughts. The look in his eyes made him halt the verbal assault he was planning to unleash on him out of—was it pity? He could tell he hadn't slept and was driving himself completely mad with what that passage could mean. Tony could tell by the dark circles, the slight shaking of the mans hands, the unkempt hair, and the similar look the other man's facial hair had taken to his own just an hour before he arrived. He was thankful that he'd at least gotten to trim before the sorcerer popped in on him.

"Oh God-" Stephen slammed the book shut, suddenly realizing what he'd done. "Tony, dammit.. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pop in on you like this I just thought that you could make sense-" "It's fine Stephen." Dr. Strange stopped what he was doing, taking his fingers away from where they had been pinching the bridge of his nose. That was the first time Tony Stark had ever called him anything but _Doc_ or _Strange_. In truth, he wasn't sure how to react, or why he'd be being calling him by his first name all of a sudden. A comfortable amount of silence passed before Tony spoke again, gently taking the book from his lap. "When's the last time you've slept Doc?" That seemed to snap him out of whatever trance he'd been in, much to the Ironman's relief. "Ah.. I've been in my astral form for some time, but I suppose I haven't slept for almost 5 days now." Tony nodded at that, suddenly standing. "We can look at this tomorrow, you need to get some sleep." As did Tony but Strange needed it more, he could tell he wasn't paying any mind to his health either since the last time he saw him. "No, I have to make sense of this. I'm so close to cracking the code-" Tony interrupted the man with a firm hand on his shoulder, squeezing until his light blue eyes were locked on his own. "No one's going anywhere, nothing is gonna change while you're asleep. Besides I can't have you busting into my bathroom every time you think you're onto something. If you want I can come by the Sanctum this week, but only after you've gotten some rest. You're burning yourself out Strange." "That doesn't matter, I can-" "Enough, end of conversation." "Tony this important, I can't just waste my time sleeping when the Time Stone could be within our grasp." Ironman sighed at that, throwing his hands up in frustration. "Unlike everyone else, I'm not going to just waste my time not trying to figure out how to undo thi-" But this time he was interrupted by the sound of metal hitting flesh instead of the man's voice.

By the time he realized that Tony had slapped him he was already being helped up, a warm streak of blood running down the corner of his now busted lip. " _You_ -" "And I'll do it again. You don't think I've been spending every day of my miserable life trying to figure out how to fix this? This has been what I've been fearing since day one! Since New York Stephen so I know better than anyone how much this hurts! You're not the only one trying to think of something.. we all are." Another long silence, then finally Stephen smiled, licking his injured lip and wiping the blood away with the back of his hand. "You've probably wanted to do that for a long time." He looked at the blood on his hand thoughtfully, almost getting dragged away by his own thoughts until he felt another sensation at his cheek. It was warm- more blood streaming from a cut made by the man's metal hand where he'd slapped him. It wasn't Stephen who wiped it away though but Tony himself, and without the red metal encasing his hand this time. "Yeah, well.. Can't say you didn't deserve it." The scientist finally let out a laugh, cupping the man's cheek with a tissue as the new wound refused to stop bleeding since it was a bit deeper than he'd anticipated. In truth, he felt bad for hitting him so hard.

Stephen felt his face growing warm and not from the heat of the other's hand. It was an odd sensation, one that had him placing his hand over Tony's and pulling it from his cheek rather gently. He could see the pained expression on the other's face, one of remorse so he smiled quickly at him and swiped one last time at his cheek. "You're right, I should sleep." He snatched up the book in one hand, his other balling into a fist nervously. "I really do apologize for the trouble Tony. I didn't have my wits about me this evening. I- _apologize_." Tony Stark stood quietly, watching as the other made moves to leave. What had come over him just then? And why had his armor encased his hand without him activating it? It not like Stephen was a real threat.. but then he remembered how he'd programmed the suit to activate whenever his heart rate became abnormal. Bu what about this man could have had that effect? "Goodnight, Stark." The sparks were what pulled Tony out of his thoughts, but too late as they suddenly died and the other man was gone.


End file.
